​So… how’s it ‘Goaling’???The average New Year’s resolution is abandoned by JANUARY 18th!How to keep this from happening to YOU!By Mark Fournier

In my last post I explained ‘How to GUARANTEE your Goals’… and now it’s time to follow up.So, did you start out with a big list of small resolutions, or perhaps a small list of big ones?

How’s it going so far?I’m posting this message TODAY because tomorrow is the 18th of January, the date by which most people have already compromised their New Year’s resolutions or abandoned them altogether.

If you’re not one of them… congratulations! You’ve passed the first milestone. Keep up the good work. IF, however, you’ve already ‘skipped a day’, begun to wane, or felt discouraged, there’s still hope. NOW is the time to follow the directions I shared in my ‘How to GURARANTEE your Goals’ blog, which I will now reframe:

The most important part of reaching your goals all comes down to consistency. The goals we turn into ‘habits’ are the ones we keep.

So how do we turn them into habits? We do so by NOT skipping days, giving up, or allowing excuses to stop us. As an example, I work-out 7 days per week, and I do this for a very good reason… its because my brain no longer has to think about whether or not this is a ‘workout day’; it knows that I am going to work out today… NO MATTER WHAT. And because of that, I DO.

Before you dismiss me as a zealot, consider this… I don’t work out HARD 7 days per week; I just do ‘something’. And that ‘something’ is enough to both reinforce my habits, AND keep me moving forward (or at the very least, keep me from slipping backwards).

So if you’re having a difficult day, or you’re traveling, under the weather, or just too busy to ‘do’ your goal today… do it anyhow… but just don’t do it as much. If you’re writing a book at the rate of a page-per-day, write a paragraph… or a sentence… ANYTHING that keeps you in the process, keeps you moving forward, and keeps the habits forming.

The same holds true for exercising, or for nearly anything else… rather than skipping it all together, just do a mini version. And if you’re wondering if we NEED to take a break sometimes… the answer is NO… that has never been proven. YES, you need to rest your body after a hard workout, but that doesn’t mean doing NOTHING. Every time you ‘do nothing’ you compromise your habits. So if for example, you have a great upper body workout where you totally crush it, breaking all of your records, that's awesome, celebrate! And then tomorrow, go easy… even if you only do just 10 or 20 sit-ups, it will allow your body to rest, while continuing to reinforce your habits.

You will read LOTS of blogs about ‘taking breaks’ but consider this… has taking breaks worked for YOU? Were you still able to forge iron-clad habits, that now GURARANTEE your Goals? If so, GREAT, keep it up. But if the answer is ‘NO’, you might consider a different approach. One thing I do know… it works for me! In fact, since my last blog, I’ve now increased my daily core reps from 350 to 500, just as I had planned. And remember… it started out with just 5 reps per day.

“It’s not the ‘Goals & Commitments’ you make that matter… it’s the ones you KEEP.”~Mark Fournier

When it comes to achieving your goals, CONSISTANCY is EVERYTHING. This is true because:

1) Consistency not only keeps you moving forward (regardless of how slowly); you’ve all heard the story of the Tortoise & the Hair, and the cumulative power of compound interest… the same principle applies in every area of your life from ‘reading 10 pages per day which (totals 12-15 books per year), to doing 10 sit-ups per day EVERY day for a year, Vs doing 100 sit-ups 'only once'. ​2) Consistency also creates habits, and habits create results! The more you consistently repeat something, the more likely it is to become an automatic habit, and it is ‘habits’ that run our life… not 'goals, good intentions, or willpower’. For more on 'Habits', please visit our THRIVE 5 STORE and review my book 'Self-HELP Me! Change your Habits; Change your Life'. (Click Here: STORE)

A perfect example of this principle comes with exercise…

Let’s say your goal is to do 100 crunchers (sit-ups) or various ‘core’ exercises every day before you even get out of bed. You attempt to do this but soon find yourself dreading the activity, not having time, and skipping workouts, and before you know it, it has been a month since you did a single sit-up.

Sound familiar? So let’s try something different; let’s say you start with 100, but the moment you find yourself skipping a workout, you drop the amount in half to only 50. 50 is faster and easier so you manage to keep it up a while longer, but before you know it, you’re skipping workouts again. Only this time, instead of skipping workouts, you drop the amount in half once more… to only 25 reps, and you keep doing this until you find a number that is so fast and easy you will do NO MATTER WHAT.

Let’s say the number of reps you settle on is ‘5’. Can you do 5 sit-ups per day NO MATTER WHAT? Of course you can. So what happens next? Before you know it, you’ve done your 5 sit-ups every day for a month straight and it is starting to become a natural part of your regimen (like brushing your teeth). And just as with ‘brushing your teeth’ you stop thinking of it as an ‘optional’ activity; its now just something you always to NO MATTER WHAT.

And eventually, you start feeling silly doing only 5 sit-ups… you know it isn’t really getting the results you want (it’s kind of like brushing only 1 tooth), and let’s face it… its TOO easy. So what do you do? You double it to 10. The difference between doing 10 per day NOW, Vs when you tried it the first time, is that now its becoming a habit to do your sit ups, so its remarkably easy. And before you know it, ‘10’ sit-ups start feeling silly as well, so you increase the amount again, and you keep increasing the amount every time it becomes too easy. And all the while, you’re not only getting stronger (making more reps all the easier), you’re also building the habit of doing so, a habit, that simply takes over.

And to KEEP the habit going, (even on 'really bad days', such as when you have a cold, or you're super late for a meeting) you simply cut back on the number of reps that day ... so if you're up to 100 reps per day but simply can't do them... you do only 50, or 25, or 10... even 10 feeds the habit.

I created this process for myself… and guess what… I’m currently up to 350 various core reps per day. Guess what else… because I’m also into interval training, I do these reps in rapid fire to get my heart rate up to maximum. And because of the frenetic pace, I’m able to complete them in… 3.5 minutes (100 reps per minutes)! And once my body adjusts to this regimen, I’ll increase the amount again, and I’ll keep doing so until I can do 500 reps in 5 minutes. That’s my 'goal'.

What’s really great about it is… I’ve already seen such huge results, that it doesn’t really matter if I reach that goal, because the underlying goals is to continually become a healthier, more fit version of me… and THAT, I am already doing.

If I had started out with the goal of doing 500 core reps in 5 minutes, I would have quit before I ever started; it would have seemed absolutely impossible. But doing 5 reps in 5 minutes (or less) … well, even I could do that… and so can YOU!

Since the #1 New Year’s resolution is…. You guessed it, ‘Weight Loss’… I’m going to kick off the new year with a crucial insight that could make ALL the difference in the world regarding your health & weight loss goals. If carefully followed, this regimen can increase weight loss, decrease muscle loss, improve focus, increase strength and energy, and improve sleep… ALL by eating the right foods, at the right time.

According to studies, the following recommended eating pattern will provide the best results:

Don’t snack after dinner. *You must go 10-12 hours with NO food or snacks

Don't skip meals (it throws your body and metabolism off)

This pattern will also reduce your desire to eat later in the evening, and help you fall asleep faster.

As for what ‘kind’ of carbs, fats and proteins you should be eating… we’ll save that for another discussion, but for the time being, let common sense prevail; this isn’t a license to live on doughnuts.

For a more detailed explanation of these insights, see below:

According to experts, consuming ‘carbs’ isn’t always ‘bad’, and neither is eating ‘fats’. ‘When’ you eat them can be just as important… and the same goes for protein.

As it turns out, the body burns carbs and proteins FAR better during the first half of the day. It also happens that when consumed early in the day, these foods give us energy, and help us remain alert and focused.

Studies also show that we burn most of our calories while we sleep (provided we go at least 10-12 hours between dinner and breakfast). And in case you’re wondering… yes, that’s why they call it break-fast, because you are ‘breaking at fast’.

In addition to these findings, it has been determined that eating proteins during dinner stimulates the brain and interferes with sleep.

In an article by Lina Zeldovich published in Psychology Today, a new understanding was revealed regarding the way our body metabolizes food.

Hopefully, this summary of her article will have a huge impact on WHEN you eat what you eat…

{“Major fat burning occurs when we sleep.” Says neuronutrition researcher Oren Froy of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. During the nighttime fast, the liver switches from burning carbohydrates to burning fats, breaking lipids into glycerol and fatty acids. The longer the fast, the more calories burned. People who sleep more weigh less. Because metabolic hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisone, peak in the morning, anything consumed between dawn and noon is immediately transformed into ‘vigor and strength’. “That’s why you must eat in the morning,” says Froy’s colleague Daniela Jakubowicz. Scientists are nearly unanimous that it is the most important meal of the day; it synchronizes our brain timer with our food-processing machinery, setting the entire body to run in metabolic harmony for the day so that we function at our best. A hearty breakfast that supplies both proteins and carbohydrates is ideal. If you don’t eat protein in the morning, Jakubowicz warns, your system robs it from your muscles. Protein also boosts the ability to focus, while consuming carbohydrates reduces levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone. At breakfast we can safely indulge in carbohydrates secure in the knowledge that they will be actively metabolized in a high-calorie burning phase. Plus, Jakubowicz says, those early carbs help curb afternoon sugar cravings.For lunch, anything goes… fats, proteins, carbs… as long as it’s consumed around noon, while our metabolic hormones are still at high tilt. In the second half of the day, adrenaline and cortisone levels drop, and metabolism slows. If we binge on carbohydrates in the afternoon or late at night, those calories stick. That is why dinner is best eaten light, and early, from 5-7 pm. Froy suggests limiting protein at dinner because it stimulates concentration and can interfere with sleeping. He also recommends skipping the fats but keeping the carbs. About 6 hours after we consume carbohydrates, our body secretes the hormone leptin, which signals satiety to the brain. “It’s good to have carbs during dinner,” Froy notes, because they keep hunger at bay during the night.Late night snacks break our fast too soon. Our metabolic genes never get to turn on to burn through the nourishment we have accumulated during the day. The 10-to 12-hour fasting window is important for healthy and robust metabolic function, and shrinking it can lead to such disorders as diabetes and obesity. It may sound counter intuitive, but if we supply our digestive conveyor with the right food at the right time while shutting it down at night, we can eliminate cravings, enjoy desserts, and feel full despite staying lean. Our calories will literally melt in our dreams.}

WHY I DON'T BELIEVE IN 'GOAL SETTING': There's something BETTER.By Mark Fournier​ARE you READY for 2016???Have you figured out your 'goals & resolutions' yet?Do you know that by January 18th nearly 100% of New Year's resolutions will have been abandoned or broken?How many goals or resolutions have YOU created, only to watch them slip between your fingers like sand through a fishing net?There IS a better way... I teach it in great detail in our new program THRIVE (www.Thrive5.com), but here's a glimpse:I call it 'Goal GETTING'... instead of Goal 'Setting'. This puts the emphasis where it belongs ... not on the dreaming, but rather the doing. Call it the Law of 'Action' (over 'Attraction').So what if THIS year... you pick only three things that you are committed to 'DOING' (not a 'result'... an ACTIVITY... something that you know, if you did it consistently, day-in and day-out, the 'results' would take care of themselves. And once done, include with each goal a detailed plan of action vividly outlining exactly:• `What you will do (each day)• `How you will do it (each day)• `When you will do it (each day)• `Who will support you and hold you accountable (each day)• `What the DAILY rewards will be for following through• `What the DAILY consequence will be if you don't • `What the overall 'costs and payoffs' will be for each goalWhen it comes to effective Goal GETTING... its not about WHAT goals you have, it's how you go about getting them.And remember this... every single day, you will have a choice... to either BE the person you've chosen to be by following through on your goal commitments, or to give up on yourself and your dreams. But know this... those who give up the FIRST time, find it easier and easier to continue doing so.

Here's a little twist on 'kindness'... how about being 'kind' to your BODY?

I know it seems like the holidays are all ABOUT 'being kind to our bodies'... pie... egg nog... lots and lots of food... but in truth, that isn't what our body WANTS (or needs). What it really wants is 'fuel'... pure... digestible, fast-burning fuel. So how about spending even a day putting ONLY super healthy 'fuel' in your body... and just 'see' how if 'feels'.

Don't think of it as a 'diet'... think of it as just 'being kind' to your body!

Who knows... you might just get to LIKE it (as much as your body does).

If you're ready to move on to another topic, just ask yourself the following:

'Have I done ALL I can to 'be kind' this past week? Has it become a habit for me now? Am I continually behaving with kindness toward others?'

If the answer is 'no... not really'. Just remember this..."When it comes to 'kindness', it ISN'T the 'thought that counts', its the 'effort'. That's why they call it an ACT of kindness... you must 'take action'."~Mark Fournier​That is also why I've named our new empowerment program THRIVE... because its a VERB... its something you DO. And what better way to THRIVE than by surrounding yourself with love through 'continuous acts of kindness'?

Our theme this holiday week has been about ‘kindness’, so here’s another fun thought…​CONTINUOUS ‘Acts of Kindness’…

Why settle for ‘random’ acts when you can do so much more?What if the whole purpose in life was to see how ‘kind’ you could be?What if our 'games & competitions' centered around seeing who could be the ‘kindest’?What if ‘being kind’ was more important than ‘being right, getting your way, winning, looking good, owning things, or anything else’?How might you think, feel, and behave differently?

Find out… play the ‘Kindness’ game and see how many ‘Acts of Kindness’ you can commit in a 24-hour period… let your number-one priority be ‘kindness’ in every single encounter… invite others to join you in this game… and just watch what happens. You’re in for a wonderful shocker.​mark fournier

Whenever I'm asked if we could master or teach only ONE thing in our life what that might be... my answer is always the same... Kindness.

Try for even a single week being kinder than you have ever been, while encouraging others to join you, and you'll be amazed at the results!​And what better time to try it out than NOW during the holidays? ~Mark Fournier